A Noble Responsibility
by gentleness28
Summary: Rebecca is a princess, who is betrothed to the prince of a nearby kingdom and her best friend, Wil. She doesn't have a problem with this until a certain mercenary comes along...


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Fire Emblem characters. There. Now you can't sue me.  
  
Rebecca: Yay! You did write another story about me!  
  
Me: sigh Yeah...I did...  
  
Rebecca: But in your summary you made it sound like I'm not ending up with Wil...  
  
Me: Well, there are an awful lot of Rebecca/Raven fics out there, and I guess I just wanted to write one. Don't worry. You'll definitely end up with Wil in my other fic!   
  
Rebecca: I guess that's OK... Raven IS kind of cute!   
  
Me: smiling with sweatdrop  
  
Rebecca: Onto the story!  
  
Rebecca gazed at herself in the mirror. A girl with green hair and green eyes stared back. She had on a loose-fitting tan riding outfit with a khaki skirt, brown boots, and a brown traveling cloak. Her hair was in two braids that hung almost all the way to her waist—a style that irked her mother to no end. She claimed that it was too childish a hairstyle for a fifteen-year-old girl, who was about to be married. Married. The girl in the mirror blushed as she thought about her husband-to-be, Wil.  
  
If the court rumors were true, then this was one of the best marriage alliances that Rebecca could have made. For one, she and Wil actually got along with each other, and for another, her parent's kingdom was bordered by the sea—which meant pirates. Wil's kingdom had a strong navel force that was capable of dealing with the pirates. Rebecca's brother, Dan, had tried to negotiate with the pirates long ago, and as an act of goodwill, he had even gone straight into the heartland of the pirates' home with only a few escorts. He hadn't been seen since...  
  
"Rebecca, dear?" There was a knock at the door.  
  
Rebecca blinked her eyes rapidly to keep from crying. "...Y-Yes, mother?"  
  
The door opened slowly, and Rebecca's mother stepped into the room. Her maternal instinct told her that something was upsetting her daughter. "Is everything alright?" she asked. "Does it have anything to do with, you know, your wedding?"  
  
Rebecca put on a brave smile. "Oh no, not at all. Wil is very kind to me, and he's been my best friend for...well, as long as I can remember. We make a good couple; everyone says so..."  
  
"And what do YOU say, my dear?"  
  
Rebecca looked at her mother in surprise. What did SHE want? No one had ever asked her that before... "Um... I think that...well Wil is... He's a wonderful match for both me and the kingdom."  
  
Her mother smiled knowingly and kissed her on the forehead. "Yes, he is." She suddenly embraced Rebecca. "As your queen, I want the best for this kingdom; but as your mother, I just want you to be happy. I pray that you will find both in your upcoming marriage."  
  
'Me too,' thought Rebecca as there was another knock on the door.  
  
"Your highness, may I come in?" It was Kent, one of their most loyal retainers. He would be one of the knights accompanying Rebecca on her journey to meet Wil.  
  
"Please come in," Rebecca offered.  
  
Kent opened the door and stood in the doorway, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. "I am deeply sorry to disturb you, your highness, but—"  
  
Rebecca waved her hand to silence him. "Don't be so silly, Kent! When have YOU ever been a disturbance to anyone?" she reprimanded. "Now Sain..."  
  
A quick smile ran across Kent's face as he thought of Sain, his comrade-in-arms. With him, there was never a dull moment, especially if there happened to be any pretty girls around. Sain's life revolved around one thing—flirting, a fact that had landed him into trouble countless times. Kent sighed as he remembered exactly how much trouble that Sain had caused in the past with his flirting, and desperately hoped he wouldn't try to flirt with Rebecca. That would cause some major problems... Kent almost wished that Lowen could have come with them, but Lowen had gone with Dan on that mission to the pirates...  
  
"Uh...Kent?"  
  
Kent snapped out of his ponderings, ashamed that he had lost focus so quickly. "Yes, your highness?"  
  
Rebecca shook her head. "No need for such formalities, Kent. Since we're going to be traveling together, titles would just get in the way. Oh, and speaking of traveling," She looked around the room. "Where is Sain? Isn't he coming too?"  
  
Kent also looked around the room in puzzlement. "Uh... He was right behind me when we left..." He put his face in his hand and groaned. "Oh, he better not be flirting... We have to leave soon. sigh I don't have time for this..."  
  
Sain chose that moment to rush into the room, almost knocking Kent down in the process. "Kent! Watch where you're standing! And what are you doing here anyway? We have to leave soon with Rebecca!" He slapped Kent on the back. "Thankfully, while you were gone, I took the time to get our horses ready. Really, Kent. I thought that you were responsible..."  
  
Astonished that Sain had actually done something useful for a change, Kent couldn't respond right away. "...Well, Sain... Thanks a lot. I'm ashamed to say that I thought you would be flirting with all the maids before we left, but... I'm proud of you. You might not end up such a bad knight after all." Kent took a look out of the window. "The sun's almost all the way up, and we were supposed to leave as soon as it rose! We have to go now if we want to make it on time!"  
  
"Breathe, Kent. In, out, in, out..." helped Sain. "...Feel better?"  
  
As Kent was becoming almost as red as his hair, Rebecca didn't think that he was feeling any better. They would probably have to leave pretty soon, so that he would not go insane with the stress. She stood up, checked that her clothes were in order, and declared that she was ready to go.  
  
"We can go now...if you believe that we need to..." she said. "I just want to say my good-byes first." She then proceeded to hug her mother. "Mother? Where's father? I'll say good-bye to him too."  
  
Her mother smiled. "Don't worry, dear. It should only take you a couple days to reach Wil's kingdom, and then we'll get to see you soon enough. I'm sure that your father would rather you be on time, than be late by saying good-bye to him."  
  
"Alright, mother." Rebecca agreed. Then she turned to her two escorts. "Well, are we going or not?"  
  
"Yes, of course," replied Kent. "C'mon Sain. Now, where did you leave our horses?"  
  
"Huh? Our horses? What about them?" Sain tried to look innocent and confused, but it wasn't working too well.  
  
"The horses that YOU said you got ready for the journey!" cried an exasperated Kent.  
  
"Oh those..." answered Sain. "Um... Did I really say that I had gotten them ready? I don't remember..."  
  
Kent found this too much to bear. "Sain! You weren't flirting again were you!? Gah...I can't believe you..."  
  
Rebecca's mouth curved up in a smile that she tried to hide behind her hands. "Oh, come on, you two. Let's just go, OK? It doesn't matter whether or not Sain got the horses ready. I mean, if you really care that much, then I say that we just walk." After that statement, she swept out of the room, her traveling cloak billowing behind her.  
  
"Look what you've done, Kent!" yelled Sain. "Now she's mad at us!"  
  
Kent got redder than his hair. "Me!" he retorted. "You're the one who—"  
  
"Stop it!" Rebecca's mother walked up to the two arguing knights. "I gave you two a simple mission: Keep my daughter safe on her journey to meet Wil. The fate of the kingdom rests in her hands, and her fate rests in yours. Please show me that I wasn't wrong in choosing you for this task."  
  
Both knights looked down, properly scolded. "Yes, your Majesty..."  
  
Rebecca's mother softened. "There. That wasn't too hard was it? Now go and do your job."  
  
"Yes!" they both declared as they set out after Rebecca.  
  
Rebecca's mother smiled as she watched them leave. 'They're good knights,' she thought. 'They'll keep my Rebecca safe.'  
  
Rebecca: Hey...Raven didn't come in yet...  
  
Me: Your supposed to meet him—  
  
Rebecca: Hey, don't give away any secrets! You already said that I was going to end up with Raven! That's too many story secrets to give away!  
  
Me: Well, you may or may not end up with Raven, depending on how the reviews go...  
  
Rebecca: It's not right to play with people's hearts that way!  
  
Me: I'm the authoress. Therefore, I have ultimate power in my fics.   
  
Rebecca: Yeah, sure. grins evilly But I'm your muse, and therefore, I have power over YOU!  
  
Me: gulp Help...  
  
Rebecca: Oh, and, don't forget to review! My little authoress here needs all the help she can get!   
  
Me: Yes, please review. I know this chapter's pretty short, but I'm not good at writing good first chapters of anything... Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my other stories! hugs everyone Luv you! 


End file.
